End guard for slicing machines



May 23,- 1933. H.,'r||oMAs' END GUARD FOR SLICING MACHINES 2sheen-sheet.

Filed D90. 11, 1929 mwmmmwmww l May Z3, 1933. y H. THoMAs 1,910,654

END GUARD FOR SLICING MACHINES` Filed Dec. ll, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented` May 23, 1933 maritim) STATES PATENT olf-'FICE HENRY vTHOMAS,0F BARKING, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO U. S. SLICING MACHINE COM- PANY, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION 0F INDIANA END GUARD Fon sLIcING MACHINESApplication led December 11, 1929, Serial No. 413,150, and in GreatBritain April 24, 1929.

The present invention relates Ato slicing machines and particularly thattypefwhich includes a carriage adapted to carry the substance to besliced recurrently past a slicing knife. Such machinesA ,generally areinstalled for use upon a supporting structure such as a shop counter. Assuch machines are usually designed-so that the carriage moves beyond thebase, customers are .apt to be struck by the moving carriage ormechanism associated therewith especially in the case where the machineoverhangs the structure supporting it.

One object of this invention, therefore, is to provide means forpreventing` customers from being struck by the moving parts of such amachine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an end guard attached tothe slicing machine solas to be positioned beyond the end ofthe travelof the slicing machine carriage and its associated parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for preventingendwise bodily movement of the slicing machine base, at least in onedirection, as it is well-known that such machines generally have atendency to creep in a direction towards the operators position unlessmeans isy provided for preventing such movement. This creeping is due tothe fact that the movement of the carriage on the base re-acts to movethe base in one direction more than the other. This has been found truein actual practice and this is a disadvantage in that it necessitatesoccasionally shifting the machine bodily back to its original position.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a means forpreventing bodily movement of the slicing machine by a stop member whichdoes not have to be fastened to the supporting structure. This is anadvantage in view of the fact that such a stop member can be readilyused with a slicing machine adapted to be placed on counters or othersupporting structures, the appearance of which would be marred by theuse of permanent fastening means or stop members fastened thereto, or bythe marks left thereby after the stop members were removed.

A .further vobject of this invention is the provision of a guard whichnot only protects the customer from being struck but` Fig. -1 is an endelevation cfa device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the end of the slicing machineto which the guard is attached, showing the manner in which the carriageoverhangs the base at the end of the base;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a modification partly in section of the device shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 5 shows a modification of the devices disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive;

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the device shown inv Figs. 5 and 6 with thebase of the slicing machine illustrated in dotted lines.

Referring first to Figs. l to 4, inclusive, 1 representsv the base of aslicing machine embodying vmy invention and 2 Vrepresents the carriagem'ovably supported thereon by means of the rollers 8 and 4 engagingsuitable guides 5 and 6 on the slicing machine base, the carriage 2being reciprocated in the usual manner by means of a hand-wheel (notshown), said hand-wheel being adapted to rotate'the crank 7 and impartmovement to the connecting rod 8 in such a manner that the carriage isreciprocated along the guides 5 and 6. As will be apparent from aninspection of Fig. 2, the carriage is adapted to extend over one endofthe base, in one of its limiting positions, and customers are apt tobe struck by the carriage and its ascarriage adjacent the customersposition.

ln order to prevent the customer from being struck by the carriage orits associated mechanism, l provide a suitable guard ar` ranged beyondthe limit of the travel of the carriage and mechanism supported thereby.This guard comprises a pair of brackets and 11 f stened by suitablescrewsv 12 and 13 to the base of the machine and each of these bracketshas a groove 14 adapted to receive one edge of the glass guard plate 15.The grooves 14have rollers 16 rotatably mounted therein at the lowerends thereof, as best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. These rollers 16 areadapted to support the glass guard plate 15 arranged in the grooves 14,the glass Aguard plate being readily removable from thegrooves for thepurpose of cleaning or replacing the same. It is not necessary thatthevrollers 16 be rotatably mounted but, by rotatably mounting theserollers in the grooves 14, different supporting surfaces of the rollersmay be presented to the glass guard plate. Preferably, these `rollers 16are made of resilient material, 'such as rubber, leather, or the like,and are fastened in grooves by means of the screws 17 so that the samecan be replaced when worn out.

The device shown in Fig. 4 has suitable 4"brackets such as the brackets10 and 1l,

shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, for supporting the glass guard plate18. One of these brackets 19 is shown in Fig. 4 and corresponds to thebracket 11, shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, it being understood thatthe `iracket, such as the bracket 10 shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive,is used to support the other end of the glass guard plate 18. How

. ever,in the modification shown in Fig. 4,

yeach of the brackets, or at least one of the brackets, is provided witha depending portion such as the portion 2O on the bracket 19. Each ofthese depending portions is provided with an opening which slidablyreceives the member 21 having a hook-shaped portion 22 adapted to extendover the edge of the counter 23. This member 21 is locked in position bymeans of the set screw 24.

Since the slicing machine base has a tendt5 rection, if the base has atendency to move to the right instead of to the left. It will be notedthat by loosening the set screw 24, the member 2l can be adjusted tovarious positions.

Referring now to the modification shown in Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive, itwill be noted that, in this embodiment of the invention, the guard plateis not directly fastened to the base but is constrained to occupy adefinite fixed positionrelative thereto.` The base 1 of the machineshown in Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive, has de sending legs 25 provided withtheV feet 26. The feet 26 are made of resilient material preferablyrubber, and, as best villustrated'in Figs. 5 and 6, have oppositelyextending conical portions, one ofwhich is adapted to rest in a recess,of the legs 25, the ,other of which is adapted to rest in a suitablerecess in the adjacent bracket 27 or 28. i

Each of the brackets 27 and 28 has an outwardly extending finger portion29 having a substantially af-shaped groove 30 therein adapted toreceivethe adjacent depending flanged portion 31 of the base 1. Thus, itwill be seen that by the means just described, the brackets k27 and 28are constrained to move with the base member,V 1 as long as the basemember is operatively connected by means ofthe feet-26 and the flange 31engaging the groove 30 in the linger 29. However, it will be readilyseen that, by merelyV raising the base member, the same will becomedisengaged from the bracket members.

Each of the brackets 27 and 28 .carry upstanding identical auxiliarybrackets 32.

As is best illust-rated in Fig. 6, each of these brackets 32 carries apair of clamping memers 33 and 33 arranged in opposed spaced relation toeach other, each of the clamping members 33 and 33 being provided with 3suitable packing strips 34 for engaging the glass guard plate 35 whichis interposed between the opposed faces of the packing strips 34. Thepackingstrips 34 may be made of rubber or any other material suitablefor this purpose.

The clamping member 33 is preferably formed integral with or rigidlyattached to the auxiliary bracket 32 and the clamping member 33 is aseparate part which is connected to the clamping member 33 by means ofthe bolt 36 which extends through an unthreaded opening in the clampingmember 33 and a threaded opening in the clamping member 33. Bytighteningthe bolt 36 by means of the winged head thereon, the clamping members 33and 33 are drawn against the opposite sides of the glass guard plate 35.Each of the clamping members 33 is provided with a laterally extending'i' portion 37 adapted to engage the clamping member 33 and hold theclamping members 33 and 33 in spaced relation to each other adjacenttheir lower ends,the upper ends thereof being held in spaced relation toeach other by means of the glass guard plate interposed therebetween.

Each of the brackets 27 and 28 is also provided with a stop 38 having aportion thereof extending through a slot 39 in its respective bracketand a thumb screw or the like 40, may be used to clamp the stop inadjusted position in the slot 39. The stop members 38 are for the samepurpose as the hookshaped portion 22 of the member 2l shown in Fig. 4,that is, to prevent bodily movement of the base member in one direction.The auxiliary brackets 32 are held in spaced relation to each other bymeans of the cross bar 4l fastened by suitable nuts 42 to the brackets32. The brackets 32 are attached to the brackets 27 and 28,respectively, by means of the screws 43. As will be obvious from aninspection of Fig. 6, the supporting structure 44 is narrower than thebase of 'the machine and the machine overhangs the structure. Thisarrangement is often found to be desirable with large machines and theuse of a machine with such a supporting structure is rendered possiblebecause of the guard plate 35 and the stops 38. If it were not for theselast-mentioned attachments to the machine, it would be necessary to havea supporting structure which would extend under substantially the entiremachine and even project therebeyond in order to properly safe-guardcustomers who are apt to be struck by the carriage and its associatedarts.

While I have illustrated the brackets which support the guard member asbeing separate members, it will, of course, be readily understood thatthe brackets may be made integral with the base member, if desired.Also, similar guard plates may be used to protect the sides of themachine and the opposite end thereof if the same can be done withoutinconvenience to the operator. Furthermore, it is not necessary that theguard plate be attached directly to the machine, it only being necessaryto support the guard plate in a position to protect the customer fromthe moving parts thereof, as will be readily understood. For instance,the brackets may be supported directly on the counter or othersupporting structure, which is adapted to support the slicing machine.

Gbviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails and arrangement of parts without departing from 'the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and Itherefore do not wish to be restricted to the precise constructionherein disclosed.

I-Iaving thus fully disclosed an embodiment of my invention, what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States'isz- 1. A slicing machine comprising a base member, a carriage adaptedto reciprocate on said base member, a bracket adjacent the underside ofthe base member, opposed openings in said base member and bracket,

which said bracket member has an adjustf able stop thereon forpreventing movement of said base member and bracket member in onedirection.

3. In a slicing machine, the combination with a base member, of acarriage adapted to reciprocate thereon, brackets fixed relatively tosaid base lmember, an upstanding clamping member rigidly attached toeach of said brackets, a second clamping member mounted on each of saidbrackets movable relative to said first-mentioned clamping member, and aguard plate interposed be tween the clamping members on each of saidbrackets.

4. In a slicing machine, the combination with a base member, of acarriage mounted for reciprocation thereon, brackets, means for holdingsaid brackets in fixed relation to said base member, auxiliary bracketssupported on said first-mentioned brackets, each auxiliary bracketcarrying a pair of clamping members arranged in opposed relation to eachother, a guard plate interposed between opposed clamping members on eachof said brackets, and means for drawing said clamping members towardeach other.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which a stop member is providedon one of said firstementioned brackets for preventing movement of saidbracket and base member in one direction.

G. A slicing machine comprising a base member, a carriage adapted toreciprocate on said base member, feeton said base member, bracketmembers, recesses in said bracket members in which said feet are adaptedto be arranged to constrain said bracket members against upwardmovement, a second means on said bracket members rigidly enga-gingportions of said base member for preventing rotative movement of saidbracket members relative to said base member, and a guard platesupported on said bracket members outside of the path of travel of` saidcarriage for guarding persons against injury by said carriage when itreciprocates.

7. A slicing machine comprising a base member, a carriage adapted toreciprocate on said base member, a bracket adjacent the underside ofsaid base member, opposed openings in said base member and bracket, afoot member engaging said openings, said bracket member being held inposition solely by the weight of said base member, and

parts supported thereby so as to render said bracket member readilydetachable, and a guard plate supported on said bracket member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speoication on this20th day of November A. D. 1929.

Y HENRY THOMAS.

